Cirre le Voa
Introduction: Walking across the northern grasslands between Andul and the Elven territories, you will eventually come across a swelling green sea of swaying leaves. Stepping into these leaves, your body quickly sinks into them, as they are quite tall and the ground slopes violently downward. Your vision is shrouded by the sight of large invasive plants, and the scent of pollen and plant fiber. The ground is entirely covered in vines that impede movement, and you start to slip and fall into the thicket of them. The ground is spongy and you almost feel like it's constantly shifting under your feet. Eventually you come into a clearing where the plants aren't so thick, and you notice there is a hardened mesh of moss that stretches out of the brush and into a wall of hard green trees. The sun still finds it's way to you as you approach the wall of woven greenery and follow it deeper down into what appears to be a gateway into a community built into the living ground. You stand at the edge of a moss hewn cave-system, at least you think it's a cave, as you can't actually see any dirt or stone through the mesh of leaves. Every house visible here is made of some kind of wet spongy green tree fiber. Everything is overgrown and sprouting leaves, berries, or bark; you run your hand along a railing system and it too gives a soft wet release. You have slipped into the hidden village of Cirre le Voa, a city overgrown and maintained by evergreen. You descend the natural staircase, and come into a courtyard where smallfolk walk and commune. Under your feet are smoothstones that seem to rest between thick green vines, creating interesting patterns. All around the square are signs pointing to various directions; you ascend an enclosed staircase leading up onto the thick green trees that form a defensive wall that protects the city. You share a small walkway with halfling guards, holding crossbows lazily over their shoulders. You're able to climb a small series of vines and poke your head up above the canopy. You can barely make out anything but blue sky above, and green in all directions. Turning around to leave, you notice a halfling monk meditating on a large flat leaf a good distance away. How he got up here is a mystery shrouded by the leaves. You come back down to the large square, and see dog driven carts emerge from a grassy wall, with small riders operating the wagons holding cargo in back. You peer behind them, but the path is nothing but overgrown weeds and thick green stalks. Asking around, you hear that there are hidden paths that can be opened to allow even dragons to enter the city casually. It seems you had bad luck by falling in where you did. Further down the road, you actually enter a stone cave where the moss has been carefully braided like hair, with wildflowers that bloom within it effortlessly. Shops, housing, taverns, and many other commercial buildings are carved into the network of burrows. You begin to notice that there are no humans, elves, dwarves, or orcs that live here...only halflings, and you begin to understand that this may be the unofficial capital of the halfling race. You inquire about meeting with the leader of Cirre le Voa, but everyone smiles at you like you're a tourist. Eventually you come to find out that Kyrhas, the one that controls the city, does not see anyone. It reminds you of the rumors that because no one has seen Kyrhas in person, he or she may not even exist. You do, however, meet with the local guild leaders, visit the local restaurants, and stay the night at a lodge. You find it somewhat surprising that when you enter these buildings, not everything is made of plant fiber, though you do notice there is at least one plant in every room. Typically rooms are made of carved stone and arched wood, painted clay and glass, with typical craftsmanship you could find anywhere else on the continent. When you awake the next day, you find your room has been invaded...by leaves. You take the time and count 19 leaves that seem to have found their way into your room, though no tree is present. As odd as it is, you would have figured it was just bad house-keeping, if not for the leaves being bright green and healthy. Forgiving the weirdness, you continue on with the second half of your tour through the city. You have agreed to meet with the warehouse keeper of the merchant's guild. The Merchant's Guild uses Cirre le Voa as a massive storeroom for trading and receiving items. You meet with a halfling named Jauntok Tasinger, who takes you through a the store-front of a bakery. The halfling seems to stand out among the others as wearing a blue velvet vest and pantsuit, and short black hair; a pocket watch hangs from his hand, and you can tell he's watching it more than you. You enter a smooth-stone hallway, and notice many many doorways that probably lead all around the shopping center. Several other halflings are hanging out here, smoking, or sleeping on steps that lead up or down. Along the top of the walls, against the will of the architects probably, is a line of weeds that have broken through the stone and have twisted around the corners. As you descend, you find yourself stepping off of the stone and onto a metal catwalk high above a massive room. the Storeroom is made of all hollowed out cavern stone with a massive entrance at the opposite end where even a dragon could arrive through. you can see 30 to 50 people tending to massive crates that stock the shelves, with many open, their contents spilled out onto tables. Packed in clay pots, you notice markers that denote seasonings, and dates printed in ink. Inside wooden crates, you see collections of black wood tied together, and someone is counting the contents. Another series of rolled up raw hide on bolts is being hefted up onto a wagon near the back, and drawn out of the store room. You're in awe of the massive facility and operations, when Jauntok Tasinger brings you into one of the side offices. Charts, papers, maps, and ledgers all line desks, and it all becomes very daunting trying to understand the scope of the facility in motion. After some talk about the economy, Jauntok leaves with you out the massive exit. You appear almost mystically at the foot of the courtyard, and with some double-takes, begin to understand the elaborate and hidden nature of all the paths.